


Nightmares Again

by istie



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, possibly scary descriptions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-04-08 07:15:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14100177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/istie/pseuds/istie
Summary: Ryan tries to hide the fact that he has nightmares, but Shane sleeps lightly.  Luckily, Shane's always there to calm him down.





	Nightmares Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [poetdameron](https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetdameron/gifts).



> Wrote this late one night for @poetdameron, because she was having a rough weekend and I figured she could use some cheering up. Posted it on Tumblr when I originally wrote it, figured it ought to end up here.

Shane stirred in the bed beside him, and Ryan tightened his hand over his mouth, choking down the tears even more. No dice, though: the long, slim form beside him shifted, rolled over, blinked slowly a couple times, and looked up at him in the almost-darkness.

"You okay?" Shane murmured, voice scratchy from sleep.

Ryan didn't trust himself to speak; he just nodded. Quickly. Too quickly, probably, but hopefully Shane was too sleepy to—

Nope, Shane was sitting up. Pulling himself up out of the blankets, moving up beside Ryan, who was leaning against the headboard where he'd been staring into the darkness and trying to calm himself down for the past five minutes. Shane scooted closer, his hip bumping against Ryan's, and he slipped one long arm around Ryan's bare shoulders, putting his other hand on Ryan's thigh. He cleared his throat gently, then spoke again. "What's wrong?"

Ryan just let his head drop, hands still tightly against his mouth and his arms curled up against his chest, and he began to shake as the tears came again. He brought his knees up to his chest, and Shane responded by pulling even closer, putting his other arm around the little ball Ryan had made of himself, and resting his head in the crook of Ryan's shoulder, his forehead against Ryan's head. 

They stayed there for a minute, until Ryan uncurled himself and reached for Shane blindly, his eyes full of tears. Shane turned to face him and pulled him close, wrapping his arms around Ryan tightly – one arm low, around his waist, the other resting along his spine with his hand in Ryan's hair. Ryan laid his head on Shane's shoulder and choked out, "I— had another dream, where—" He shuddered, and his breath caught in his throat.

Shane began rocking him gently, back and forth. Ryan could feel his heartbeat, in his ear, which was laid against Shane's neck. He could feel Shane's shoulder getting soaked with his tears, but Shane didn't seem to care. He never did. Ryan wasn't sure why he kept trying to hide it. "Another dream where I died?" Shane asked, softly. Ryan whimpered, and Shane squeezed him even closer. "Do you want to tell me about it?" he continued, running his hand down Ryan's back. "Stop it running circles around in your head?"

Ryan took a few shuddering breaths, then pulled away slightly, just enough so he could look Shane in the eye – not far enough to break contact. Shane let him move, but kept his hands on Ryan's arms as he pulled away, and then held his hands as they rested on the bed between them. "You ... " Ryan closed his eyes, took another breath, then looked back up at Shane, sitting quietly, watching him, waiting patiently, never letting go of his hands. "It was really bad this time."

"Yeah?" Shane's voice had no trace of mockery in it, no banter: a hundred percent serious, honest to God concern. "What happened?"

"It ... he ... " He'd been researching true crime episodes, and he knew that was what was causing the nightmares. Logically, anyway. His brain flashed him the image which had woken him up again, very helpfully, and his face crumpled. He gripped Shane's hands, and felt Shane squeeze back. "I— I found you, d— dead, on the living room floor, I was coming home from work but you'd— you'd stayed home sick, and you hadn't been answering texts, and—" Ryan was losing control again, his voice rising into panic, the events of his dream flooding back. "And I thought maybe you'd just gone to sleep, but then I came home and _you were there but you were gone_ and there was _so much blood_ , he'd broken in, he'd _hurt you,_ I could tell he'd _hurt_ you first, and I hadn't been there to help you or be with you and you were just _staring at the ceiling_ and he'd left me a note but I couldn't read it because it was a dream and I _knew_ it was a dream but you were there, oh God you were there and I couldn't stop looking at you and I couldn't wake up and you were _gone_ —" His voice broke into a wail, and Shane was there, at some point while he'd been freaking out again Shane had wrapped his arms around him again and started rocking, stroking his back, whispering something in his ear but he wasn't paying any attention – he was too busy trying to breathe between deep sobs and also trying to convince his brain that Shane was not, in fact, dead, and was actually right there, hugging him, breathing, alive, unbloodied, unhurt.

Finally, as Ryan's keening became hiccups and whimpers, he heard what Shane was saying, still whispered and murmured into his ear: "Shhhh, it's okay, Ryan, I'm here. I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere, no one is going to hurt me _or_ you. I'm alive, no one's hurt me, I'm okay. I'm not leaving you. Shhhh, hush, it's okay. I'm here. I love you, I love you, I love you."

It was at least a few more minutes before Ryan calmed down enough to breathe regularly, and then croak out, "I love you too."

Shane hugged him tightly in response, and slipped a hand up into his hair. "Sleep now?"

"Yeah."

Shane gently pulled Ryan back down into the bed, and as Ryan settled in, Shane pulled the covers up over them. He then carefully slipped one arm over Ryan's waist, cuddling him close, and laid the other up on the pillows, settling his long fingers into Ryan's hair. Ryan nestled back against him, and he let himself be lulled back to sleep with the soft rise and fall of Shane's chest against his back, and the gentle whisper of his breath on his skin.


End file.
